Are you ready? Here is my number one, best ever tip for having a great time at Disneyland with the kiddies. I’m going to put it in bold, so you don’t miss it.
Do NOT go to the park on a Saturday.
That’s it, the number one best tip ever for having a good time at Disneyland. There are a number of reasons I don’t recommend setting foot on Disney property on Saturday, and all of them are this: Everyone in the world is at the park on Saturday.
Remember that people who live in California have no choice but to visit on the weekend, because they have jobs during the week. Also, most travelers have to stay over a Saturday because of the rates airlines and hotels charge if you don’t. You may have encountered this phenomenon yourself.
If you can avoid trying to enter “the Happiest Place on Earth” on Saturday, you will be much better off. Lines are longer, everything is more crowded, and just trying to walk around is hazardous. Add your hot, tired, possibly hungry, and crying and/or whining child, and pretty much no one is having fun anymore.
Here are a number of alternative suggestions for Saturday in Southern California. You will notice that not one of them is a theme park.
1. Sleep in, if you like that kind of thing.. have a late breakfast, and hang out at the hotel pool. Relaxing.
2. Go to the beach. Orange County is well known for its sunny beaches, and Saturday is a great day for a beach trip, if you get there early in the day. Newport, Huntington, and Laguna are a short drive away from Anaheim.
3. Visit friends and family in Southern California. My parents live locally, so we often spend our Saturday with them, hanging out at the pool and/or having a BBQ.
4. Go shopping. There are many, many malls and shopping centers in the Orange County vicinity.
5.Discovery Science Center. My kids love to go to this children’s museum, and we usually will make a stop here. If you have a membership card to your local Science Museum, check the back of your membership card, you may be able to use your membership here.
6. If you are brave enough, take a drive up to Hollywood and walk around. They really do have Movie Stars names on the sidewalk, and the kids enjoy looking at them. Put your feet in the footprints at Grauman’s Chinese. Warning: It is a long drive to Hollywood from Orange County, and there will be traffic, it will probably be pretty crowded when you get there, and there are some strange characters in Hollywood. You have been warned.
7. Go to Catalina Island. You’ll need to take a boat out to Catalina, where no cars are allowed. You can rent a golf cart and tour the island, go fishing, or just hang out. Avalon is very picturesque and peaceful, its a great place to spend a Saturday.
8.If you’re visiting during Whale Watching season, go Whale Watching at Dana Point. Check it out!“Each winter, thousands of California Gray Whales leave the cold Artic Seas and follow the coastline to the warm, calm waters of Southern California and Baja. This 5,000-mile migration brings much of the pod past Dana Point, where pods of Giant Grays can be easily seen and photographed.”
These are just a few suggestions, Orange County is a diverse community, full of fun activities and things to see and do in the immediate area. Pick up the Orange County Register and check out all the fun things to do, but don’t go to Disneyland on Saturday.
